LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap. 

PRESENTED BY 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 



J 



I 



I 



Ye HISTORY 

OF 

ST, ANN'S CHURCH 



In Ye City of Amsterdam, N, Y,, 
And Its Original, X X X 

QUEEN ANNE'S CHAPEL, 

At Fort Hunter, X X 
In Ye Mohawk Country, 

1712^4897, 




DONE FOR Ye VESTRY OF Ye SAID CHURCH 
BY W. MAX. REID, ESQ. MDCCCXCVII. X X 



A* 



X\7 



FEGEL BROTHERS PRINT : 

AMSTERDAM, N. Y. 



PARISH CHRONOLOGY, 

a; a: x. x 

MISSIONARIES TO THE MOHAWKS AT FORT HUNTER. 

Rev. Mr. Talbot, - - -» - 1702 

Rev. Thoroughgood Moore, 1704 

Rev. Thos. Barclay, ----- 1708-1712 

QUEEN ANNE'S CHAPEL BUILT 1712. 

Rev. Wm. Andrews, - 1712-1719 
Interregnum, 

Rev. Henry Barclay, i735~ I 745 
Interregnum, 

Rev. John Stuart, 1770-1778 
Interregnum, 

Rev. John Urquhart, - - - - - - 1796 

Rev. Mr. Dempster, 

ST, ANN'S, PORT JACKSON, ORGANIZED DECEMBER 22, 1835, 

Church Consecrated, - July 13, 1837 

The Rev. Timothy Minor, Rector, - - - 1835-1837 

The Rev. John Knill, Rector, - 1838-1840 

The Rev. Hobart Williams, Rector, - - - - 1841 

The Rev. Orasmus Smith, Rector, - - - 1841-1847 

The Rt. Rev. Abram N. Littlejohn, Rector, - 1848- 1849 

CHURCH REMOVED TO AMSTERDAM 1849, 

The Rev. Thomas L- Franklin, Rector, - - 1849-1853 

The Rev. Wm. H. Trapnell, Rector, - - - 1854-1857 

The Rev. J. A. Robinson, Rector, - - - 1858-1864 

The Rev. Porter Thomas, Rector, - - - 1864-1869 

The Rev. Thomas G. Clemson, Rector, - - 1869-1870 

The Rev. Howard T. Widdemer, Rector, - - 1871-1875 

The Rev. J. C. Hewlett, Rector, - - - 1875-1876 

The Rev. Wm. N. Irish, Rector, - - - 1876-1884 

The Rev. David Sprague, Rector, - - - 1 884-1 893 

Church repaired and present nave built, opened, Nov. 11, 1888 

The Rev. Edward T. Carroll, Rector, - - - 1894 



ERRATA— On page 33 after Charles II, 1660-1685, read James II, 1685-1688. 

On page 16 instead of "farms sold in 1828 and 1826," read farms sold in 1823 and 1826. 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



AMSTERDAM, N. Y. 

X X X X 

The history of St. Ann's of Amsterdam is so intimately connected 
with Queen Ann's Chapel of Fort Hunter, N. Y., that the history of one 
may well be called the history of the other. Among the traditions of 
the Mohawk Valley we learn that as early as 1642 the Jesuits sent a 
priest named Isaac Jogues as a missionary to the Mohawks, and that in 
1646 he was brutally killed by the Indians. In 1654 a mission was 
established and a Chapel built by the same order of Jesuits. Father 
Jogues was succeeded by a number of other priests at different times, the 
last named, being Francis Boniface and Francis Vallient De Gueslis, in 
1673- 

Soon after 1700, the Germans, who had made a tempory home on 
the banks of the Hudson, pushed forward into the valley of the Mohawk, 
and by the year 17 10 had extended their settlements west of Schenectady 
to lands that had been promised them, under the patronage of Queen 
Anne, who had induced them to emigrate to the New World. In order 
to protect the settlement from the French and hostile Indians, a fort was 
built at the mouth of the Schoharie and named Fort Hunter in honor 
of Gov. Hunter, the Colonial Governor. The contract for its construction 
was taken October 11, 171 1, by Garrett Symounce, Barent and Hendrich 
Vrooman, John Wemp and Arent Van Patten all of Schenectady. The 
walls were formed of logs well pinned together and twelve feet high, the 
enclosure being 150 feet square. Surrounded by the palisades of the fort 
and in the center of the enclosure stood the historic edifice known as 
Queen Anne's Chapel. It was erected by the builders of the fort, being 
in fact, part of their contract. It was built of lime-stone, was twenty- 
four feet square with a belfry. The chapel was built by order of Queen 
Anne at her own expense. The ruins of the fort were torn down at the 



6 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH. 



beginning of the Revolution, and the Chapel surrounded by heavy 
palisades? block houses being built at each corner on which cannon were 
mounted. 

It is said that soon after the erection of Queen Anne's Chapel the 
Dutch built a log "meeting house" near what afterwards became known 
as Snook's Corners, but that all traces of the building long ago disap- 
peared. 

The first missionaries to the Mohawks that we can find any account 
of, who, under the auspices of the Society for the Propogation of the 
Gospel in Foreign parts, connected with the Church of England, sent 
out to teach the Indians, were Rev. Mr. Talbot, in 1702, followed shortly 
afterward by Thoroughgood Moore, in 1704, it is said that the Rev. 
Thoroughgood Moore was driven away from Tiononderoga by the Indian 
Traders and went to New Brunswick, Conn. He was so scandelized at 
the conduct of Gov. Cornby and the Lieut. Gov. that he refused to allow 
the Liet. Gov. to approach the table of the Lord's Supper, for which act 
he was arrested and imprisoned in jail. He succeeded in escaping and 
took passage in a vessel sailing for England. On the voyage the vessel 
sprung a leak and foundered and all on board were lost. Rev. Thomas 
Barclay, chaplain of Fort Orange, in the city of Albany was then called. 
He labored among the Mohawks from 1708 to 17 12, and was in 17 12 
succeeded by Rev. William Andrews. The parsonage or manse, was 
built in 17 12. The next record that we find regarding Queen Anne's 
Chapel is the purchase or grant from the Crown of a tract of land contain- 
ing 300 acres. This was called the Barclay tract and was granted to 
Henrv Barclay November 27, 1741, presumably for the benefit of Queen 
Anne's Chapel, and was afterward known as the Queen Anne's Chapel 
"glebe" the term glebe being used to denote lands belonging to or 
yielding revenue to a parish church; an ecclesiastical benefice. 

The records says that Rev. Mr. Andrews was no more successful 
than his predecessors and in 17 19 abandoned his mission. The most 
cordial relations existed between the ministers of the Reformed Dutch 
Church who also sent missionaries from Albany to the Mohawk Indians, 
and the Episcopal Church, in their Indian mission work. After Rev. 
Mr. Andrews abandoned his mission, the Church of England had no 



HISTORY OF ST. ANN'S CHURCH, 



7 



resident missionary among the Mohawks until the Rev. Henry Barclay 
came in 1735, being appointed catechist to the Indians at Fort Hunter. 
His stay with them was made very uncomfortable by the French war and 
the attitude of his neighbors. He had no interpreter and but poor support, 
and his life was frequently in danger. In 1745 he was obliged to leave 
Fort Hunter and in 1746 was appointed rector of Trinity Church, New 
York, where he died. Arch-bishop Seeker writing to Dr. Browne, Vice- 
Chancellor of Oxford, Nov. 22, 1760, says of Dr. Henry Barclay: He 
was educated under Dr. Samuel Johnson, Pres. at New Haven College, 
in 1735 appointed catechist to the Mohocks in 1737 ordained priest, and 
settled as a missionary amongst them. He preached to them with such 
success as to form out of them a Christian congregation of 500 persons, 
sixty-one of whom in all appearances were worthy communicants. It is 
also said that he married Sir William Johnson and the German girl 
Catherine. Rev. John Ogilvie was Dr. Barclay's successor. He com- 
menced his work in March, 1749, and succeeded Dr. Barclay also at 
Trinity Church, New York, after the latter's death in 1764. An effort 
was next made to introduce converted Indians as missionaries and 
teachers to reclaim the natives from their savage life. In August, 1769, 
there was an Indian school in operation at Fort Hunter and a list of the 
scholars may be found in the Documentary History of New York. 

Sir William Johnson writing to Lord Hillsborough from Johnson 
Hall, August 14, 1770, says: "The Mohocks have had missionaries of 
the Church of England amongst them from the reign of Queen Anne till 
within these few years, they are now without any, and from the scarcity 
of clergymen or some other cause, the society cannot procure them on 
the salary which their small funds have limited them to, whilst at the 
same time the Indians find that there brothers in Canada, etc., who were 
our enemies, are regularly supplied, and one lately appointed in Nova 
Scotia, at the expense of the government as tis said, I cannot help at the 
intreaty of the Indians humbly recommending to his Majesty's considera- 
tion the affording of some allowance for the Mohock Mission which has 
always been under the immediate protection of the Crown, declaring it is 
my belief that if any farther provision could be made to employ others in 
so good a work it would increase their reverence to the Crown and their 
attachment to the British interest." 



6 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



Pursuant to this appeal the last missionary to the Mohawks was 
appointed, namely, the Rev. John Stuart, who arrived at Fort Hunter, 
December 2, 1770. He prepared with the assistance of the celebrated 
Joseph Brant, a Mohawk translation of the Gospel of St. Mark. At the 
breaking out of the Revolution he made himself obnoxious to the yeo- 
manry of the Mohawk Valley by his relations to the Johnson family and 
the Indians and his uncompromising loyalty to the Crown. It is said his 
house was attacked and plundered, his Church turned into a tavern, and, 
in ridicule and contempt, a barrel of rum was placed on the reading desk. 
Mr. Stuart was thus necessitated to remove and in June, 1778, was 
reported to be in Schenectady. 

From Onderdonk's reprint of the Church Journals of New York, we 
find that in 1776, Rev. John Stuart accomompanied Sir John Johnson 
and his band of Tories and Mohawks in their flight to Canada, but may 
have returned to Schenectady as reported above. 

The Rev. Dr. Irish in his "Parish Work" says: 4 'We come now to 
a memorable character in the history of Queen Anne's Chapel, the Rev. 
John Stuart. Sir William Johnson and the Rev. Mr. Inglis of New York, 
obtained from the Society for the Propogation of the Gospel in the year 
a missionary for service at Queen Anne's Chapel, and vicinity. 
John Stuart was a man of gigantic size and strength-over six feet high- 
called by the Indians, 'the little gentleman.' Born in Hamsburgh, 
Pa he was a diligent student, and graduated with high honors at the 
University of Pennsylvania. Though his father was a rigid Presbyterian, 
the son joined our Communion, and went to England for ordination, 
became a missionary at the Chapel and lived in the parsonage. He 
preached his first sermon at Canajoharie on Christmas Day, 1770- He 
had a congregation at the Chapel of 200 persons and upwards. In 1774 
he was able to read the Liturgy, and the several offices of baptism, 
marriage, etc., to his flock in the language of the Mohawks." 

This is practically the end of our knowledge of Queen Anne's 
Chapel as a Church. When we hear from it again it will be as a rum. 

Riaht here it might be well to give a description of the same as a 
Church We already know that it was built of limestone, was 24 feet 
square and had a belfry. It also had a bell which was afterward placed 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



9 



on an institution of learning at Johnstown and did good service for a 
number of years until the building and the bell were destroyed by fire a 
few years ago. 

The entrance to the Chapel was on the north side. The pulpit stood 
at the west end and was provided with a sounding board. There was 
also a reading desk. Directly opposite the pulpit were two pews with 
elevated floors, one of which with a wooden canopy in later times was 
Sir William Johnson's; the other was for the minister's family. The rest 
of the congregation had movable benches for seats. The Chapel contained 
a veritible organ, the very Christopher Columbus of its kind, in all proba- 
bility the first instrument of music of such dignity in all the wilderness west 
of Albany. It was over fifty years earlier than the erection of the Episcopal 
Church at Johnstown, which had an organ brought from England of very 
respectable size and great sweetness of tone, which continued in use up 
to the destruction of the Church by fire in 1836. 

Queen Anne in 17 12 sent as furniture for the Chapel: 

A Communion Table Cloth, 

Two Damask Napkins, 

A Carpet for the Communion Table, 

An Altar Cloth, 

A large Tasseled Cushion for the Pulpit, 

One Holland Surplice. 

A small Cushion for the Desk, 

One large Bible, 

Two common Prayer Books, 

One common Prayer Book for the Clerk. 

A book Homilies, 

One large Silver Salver, 

Two large Silver Flaggons, 

One "Silver Dish," • 

One Silver Chalice. * 

Four paintings of her Majesty's arms on canvass, one for the Chapel 
and three for the different Mohawk castles. 

Twelve large octavo Bibles finely bound for the use of the Chapels 
among the Mohawks and Onondagas. 



10 



HISTORY OF ST. ANN'S CHURCH, 



Two painted tables containing the Lord's Prayer, Creed, and Ten 
Commandments, "at more than twenty guineas expense." 

To which the society having charge of the mission added a table of 
their seal finely painted in proper colors, to be fixed likewise in the Chapel 
of the Mohawks; all of which arrived safely in the fall of 171 2. 

Rev. Dr. Irish mentions "a Candelabrum with nine sockets arranged 
in the form of a triangle, an emblem of the Trinity, and a Cross, both of 
brass, were in the parsonage many years but regarded as useless were, early 
in our late civil war, melted and sold for old metal." "In 1877 the manse 
was standing and in a fair state of preservation, though parts of the 
woodwork showed signs of decay. ' ' At the present time it has the appear- 
ance of a very durable stone building with main entrance to the south. 
It is two stories high and about 25x35 feet in size. The walls are thick 
making the recesses of the quaint old windows- very deep, the glass being 
6x8 and the sash in one piece. The glass for the windows and the bricks 
for the single large chimney were brought from Holland. On the east 
end of the building and over the cellar arch, the characters "1712" are 
still legible. 

In 1888, the present occupant, Mr. Dewitt Devendorf, repaired the old 
parsonage and tore down the old chimney, and very thoughtfully presented 
to St. Ann's Church about fifty of the old Dutch bricks. As these bricks 
are the only mementoes of Queen Ann's Chapel in possession of St. Ann's 
Church they should be carefully preserved and incorporated in the Church 
building. 

The following is an extract from a yet unpublished history of St. 
Peter's Church, Albany, N. Y., by the Rev. Joseph Hooper, M. A., of 
Durham, Conn. : 

"The glebe at Fort Hunter was illegally held, (presumably by a Mr. 
Wm. Harper). It was the property of the venerable 'Society for the 
Propogation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,' by purchase from the Rev. 
Dr. Henry Barclay, who had acquired the Indian title, and also secured a 
deed from the city of Albany, which claimed a proprietary right in the 
farm. 

Dr. Barclay had improved the farm, and on payment of the amount he 
had expended upon it, conveyed it in fee to the corporation of the venerable 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHRUCH, 



11 



Society. It was the home of Dr. John Stuart during his incumbancy and 
until his removal with the Mohawks to Canada. Mr. Ellison, the rector 
of St. Peter's, and others thought it should be of benefit to the congrega- 
tion of the Church in northern New York. Its rental would be a welcome 
addition to the small pecuniary resources of St. Peter's, Albany, and St. 
George's, Schenectady. It was understood that a portion of the glebe 
was still claimed by the city of Albany. Possibly the rector of St. Peter's, 
Rev. Mr. Ellison, knew what were the intentions of the Society although 
they had been disclosed to very few. To obtain a definite and formal 
answer from the Society concerning their property was probably the reason 
for Mr. Ellison's resolution in the convention of the Diocese of New York 
in 1788, for the appointment of a committee of six: 

"To inquire into the state of the property belonging to the Society 
for the Propogation of the Gospel &c, within this state and of any other 
property to which the Church may have a just claim, and to devise the 
most effectual means for recovering the same to the Church. The com- 
mittee chosen was the Rev. Dr. Bloomer, Abraham Beach, Benjamin 
Moore, Hon. James Duane, the Hon. John Jay and Richard Harrison, a 
very eminent committee. 

The committee reported to the convention of 1789, that the glebe 
was then in possession of Mr. Wm. Harper. It had requested the Society 
to deed it with any other property it owned in the state to the Corporation 
of Trinity Church in trust, "to be disposed of to such congregations 
within the state as this convention may judge the most to stand in need 
of assistance. To which request as yet no answer has been received." 
Some years before, on May 20, 1785, a similar effort was made in the 
convention, and the Hon. Peter Van Schaick in a letter to Dr. William 
Moore, the secretary, dated New York, May 4, 1786, details the result 
of the investigation he had undertaken at the request of the secretary, 
into the condition and situation of the property of the Society in the 
state. He found no estate which would require a conveyance "except 
the one at Fort Hunter on the Mohawk River. ' ' He suggested that until 
a congregation is again formed at Fort Hunter or in its neigborhood that 
he and some respectable members of the Church thought it would be well 
to apply the profits of the glebe to the benefit of the congregations of 



12 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



Albany and Schenectady, who, from being in the vicinity of it, will be 
most capable, and from its being their interest, most inclined to pay the 
proper attention to the property. The arrangement should only continue 
until a congregation be established in the place when the estate should 
again revert to its original purpose." He also named a committee of 
prominent men, but no action was taken by the Society. It is probable 
that Mr. Ellison's motion was the first formal action taken in New York. 
The complications of the title of the glebe were carefully investigated by 
Mr. Ellison who obtained from the Common Council of the city of Albany 
the following resolution : 

RESOLVED, That this Board will relinquish to the Rector and inhabit- 
ants of the City of Albany in communion of the Episcopal Church 
in the State of New York, all the right, title and interest which this 
Board have to a parcel of low lands situate at Fort Hunter in the County, 
of Montgomery commonly called the glebe, containing eleven acres. of 
land, whenever conveyance shall be produced to the Board legally vesting 
the Title of Barclay's Patent in the said Rector and inhabitants, as afore- ; 
said, and also vesting all claim of the Society in the Kingdom of Great 
Britain and denominated, The Society for the Propogation of the Gospel 
in Foreign Parts, of or to said glebe, in the said Rector and inhabitants 
aforesaid. 

Extract from the minutes of the Common Council, October 30, 1790. 

R. TUSK, Clerk. 

It is not probable that any action was ever taken under the resolu- 
tion, for in 1790 the "Propogation Society" ceded their property in trust 
to the corporation of Trinity Church, New York, in the manner suggested 
by Mr. Van Schaick. 

During the previous summer Mr. Ellison had journeyed through 
Montgomery county and saw with sorrow that where there had been a 
hopeful state of prosperity for the Church, there was now desolation and 
destruction. In his "Notitia Parochilis," he thus recorded his visit: 

"June 6, 1790, Mr. Ellison preached in the Courthouse at Johnstown, 
the Presbyterians refusing to deliver him the key of St. John's Church. 

June 8, Mr. Ellison preached in the forenoon at Fort Hunter. The 
Church is in a wretched condition, the pulpit, reading desk, and two 



I 



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I 

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HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHRUCH, 



13 



pews only being left, the windows being destroyed, the floor demolished 
and the walls cracked. On this visit Mr. Ellison put matters in train for 
incorporating these congregations. 

In 1796, the Rev. John Urquhart was placed in charge of Fort 
Hunter and Johnstown. Parochial life has been maintained ever since. 
The agency of the Rev. Thomas A. Ellison, however, in the Fort Hunter 
glebe, has been well nigh forgotten, and only now (1897), as his records 
are being studied does the Church in New York, begin to know what he 
did to save the Church in Northern New York from utter ruin and 
destruction." 

Except on a few occasions by the Rev. Mr. Dempster, the Chapel had 
not been used for a number of years when it was demolished about the 
year 1820 to give place to the canal. Says a witness of the scene: "The 
roof was burned off to get its stone walls," the stone in it were used in 
constructing guard locks near its site, Jeptha R. Simms says: "The 
Chapel in form resembled the old Dutch Church in Albany which was 
taken down in 1806. It had a four-square roof rising to an apex in the 
center with a small belfry similar to those seen on country school houses 
of the present day, surmounted with a vane on which was perched a 
chanticleer." The belfry contained the small bell which was of a very 
dark green color. "It is said that at the beginning of the war of the 
Revolution, the silver service, curtains, fringe, gold lace and other fixtures 
of the Chapel, were put in a hogshead and buried on the side of the hill 
south of Boyd Hudson's place. At the close of the war when found with 
iron rods, it was discovered that the silver service had been removed and 
the cask reburied, but by whom, or when done it was never known. 
Most of the articles remaining were so damaged by moisture as to be unfit 
for use." The silver service was undoubtedly removed to Canada by 
some parties interested in the Chapel. The Rev. Mr. Hooper, writing 
July 19, 1897, says: "I notice that in an address you speak of the Mohawk 
communion plate, and think that some of it is in the possession of St. 
Peter's, Albany. The Queen Anne silver of St. Peter's is similar to that 
of the Mohawks' but was intended for a Chapel of the Onondagas which 
was never built. It was kept in Albany, as 'St. Peter's was the Indian 
Chapel for all other New York Indians excepting the Mohawks, in trust, 



14 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



and is now its most valued possession. While New York was a royal 
province, a receipt for it was exacted from the Church warden by each 
new Royal Governor." 

Through the kindness of the rector of St. Peter's, Rev. A. Battershall, 
the writer was allowed to see the Onondaga silver which is said to be 
identical with the silver sent by Queen Anne for the Mohawk Chapel. 
It consists of the same number of pieces, namely: Two Flagons, one 
Chalice, a Paten and a large Alms Basin (or silver salver). The set is of 
heavy solid silver and its intrinsic value is great. Each piece bears the 
following inscription: "From her Majesty Ann, by the grace of God, 
of Great Britian, France, Ireland and American Plantations, Queen, to the 
Gospel of the Onondaga Indians. ' ' The above is the only large commun- 
ion set owned by St. Peter's and is used at every celebration. 

SALE OF GLEBE FARM LAND, 



The glebe after its transfer in trust to the corporation of Trinity 
Church, New York, was undoubtedly leased to different persons as we 
find the northern half leased to James A. Tobdel and Owen Johnson in 
1826, and also that their lease expired in April of that year. 

On October 29, 1823, the southern half was sold to John Conyne for 
S2400.00. It contained about 180 acres. This deed was given by Trinity 
Church, New York, and a similar deed bearing the same date by St. 
John's Church, Johnstown, N. Y. 

On March 16, 1826, the northern half was sold, and deeds given by 
the same parties to Henry C. Pettingill. This contained about 150 acres 
and the consideration was $2200.00, reserving the land taken for the 
"Grand Canal.'' 

Undoubtedly the land the Chapel stood on was also transferred to 
Trinity Church in trust, but up to the present time we can find no record 
of its transfer to anyone. We do find, however, a transfer by inheritance 
from John Enders to Elizabeth Enders, of the "equal undivided half of 
what is called the Church lot on the east side and adjoining the Schoharie 
Creek and on both sides of the Grand Erie Canal and contains about one 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



15 



acre of land." This transfer and a map were made in 1828 and are both 
in the Montgomery County Clerk's office at Fonda, N. Y. 

Herewith you will find an abstract from the original patent on file in 
the office of the Secretary of State at Albany. 

Patent dated Nov. 27, 1741. Recorded in Lib. 12 of Patents at 
page 140. 



George the Second, by the Grace of God, | 
of Great Britian, France and Ireland, | 
King, Defender of the Faith &c, } Conveys: 

to 

Henry Barclay 



"All that tract of land in the county of Albany, on the south side of 
the Mohawk river, near Fort Hunter, and adjoining to the land formerly 
granted to John Wemp, beginning at a place, in the Southern bounds of 
John Wemp's Land, which is 11 chains and 40 links from the Southwest 
corner of said land measured on his line, vizt. S. 48 E. — and runs thence 
S. 58 30' W. 25 chains 20 links — then S. 40 30' E. 106 chains — then 
N - 55° 3°' E. 34 chains and 2 rods to said John Wemp's land — then along 
his lines N. 45 W. 80 chains and N. 48 W. 25 chains and 60 links to 
the place where this tract began, containing 300 acres and the usual 
allowance for highways." — In Florida, Montgmy. Cy. 

You will notice that this plot of land was about 1% miles long, ex- 
tending from the river up over the hills to the south, and about yi of a 
mile wide from east to west, and contained about 300 acres. Quite a 
respectable possession in these days. At the present time this plot is 
divided into two parts. In fact it has been so divided a great number of 
years, and consists of the Devendorf to the north and the old John Conyne 
farm now known as the Haas McClumpha estate on the south. Between 
the western boundary line and the east shore of the Schoharie creek lays 
the land of J. H. Enders and the hamlet of Fort Hunter, and on the 
eastern boundaries, the lands of the Voohees estate. It is on the Deven- 
dorf farm or northern portion of the glebe that the old historic parsonage 
of Queen Anne's Chapel stands, nearly 200 years old, and if the future 



16 



HISTORY OF ST. ANN'S CHURCH, 



owners of this building take as good care of it as the present occupant, 
Mr. Dewitt Devendorf, it bids fair to stand 200 years longer. 

Since writing the above we have obtained what may well be consid- 
ered positive information or proof of the location of the old Chapel in the 
discovery of the old map in the office of the Secretary of State at Albany, 
N.Y. , a copy of which is shown on the opposite page. The original map is 
numbered Chap. XLI, page 31 of bound manuscripts. On it you will see 
that the old Chapel is located near the creek. In a conversation held today 
with Henrv Devendorf he informed us that in the great flood in the Scho- 
harie in 1869, the water washed away the embankment near the guard 
lock by the creek, the supposed site of the Chapel, and exposed to view the 
old palisades of the fort that enclosed the building. The stakes were about 
ten inches in diameter, set close together, the inner row covering the 
spaces between the outer row of the stakes. The map also shows the 
location of the Barclay grant and its relative position to the Chapel. 

In a previous description of the Chapel a part of the contract was 
overlooked. It required the contractors to construct a cellar under the 
building fifteeen feet square to be covered with logs, on the top of which 
was to be placed earth, which was to be covered by the floor of the 
Chapel, presumably for a magazine, or for communication with the waters 

° fth In Cr a Iristory of St. John's Church, Johnstown, the Rev. John B. 
Hubbs, rector in 1887, says in part: "After the services had been discon- 
tinued in Queen Anne's Chapel the income of the farms had been paid to 
St Tohn's Church, Johnstown, as being the Parish Church." 

' In 1806 to 1818 the Vestry (of St. John's) was allowed to take charge 
of the farms and collect the rents, but often the income was but slightly 
in excess of expenses. "And so in 18 19 they asked Trinity Church to 
petition the legislature for the power to sell the farms." The petition 
was granted November 24, 1820, and the farms were sold in 1828 and 
1826 as noted before. " Mr. Hubbs records that ' 'in 1823 the Vestry of 
the Parish sold the site of Queen Anne's Chapel at Fort Hunter for 
$750.00. The Court of Chancery granted the right of sale to the Vestry. 
In 1825 and 1831 an attempt was made to re-establish the Chapel at Fort 
Hunter and application was made to Trinity Church as trustee for a 
division of the proceeds of the sale but the corporation denied the petition . ' » 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



17 



The fund received by St. Ann's Church, Amsterdam, is intact but 
the amount apportioned to St. John's has been reduced at this date (1897) 
to $1000.00 on which it receives interest at seven per cent. 

There is no doubt that St. Ann's of Amsterdam, as the lineal descen- 
dant of the Church at Fort Hunter, has a right to the whole of the glebe 
farms and the land on which the Church was built. What reason St. 
John's Vestry had for assuming the right to sell the land on which the 
Chapel was located and appropriate the proceeds $750.00, to its use is not 
at all clear. 

An investigation of the records of the courts, if they can be found, 
may show that it had a right to sell but not expend the fund for its own 
benefit; but to hold it in trust the same as the funds are held by the 
Corporation of Trinity Church. In the division that was made between 
St. Ann's and St. John's in 1838, the amount received from the farms 
was the only amount divided, the $750.00 not being included. 

Extract from a special act of the Legislature passed March 24, 1820: 
"Whereas, Trinity Church Corporation having been seised with 
the glebe at Fort Hunter in trust and empowered to apply the rents, 
profits or income of the same to the support of the minister or ministers 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the State of New York, as the said 
Rectors, Wardens and Vestrymen should think advisable and should be 
conducive to the promotion of religion according to the doctrines and 
discipline of said Church, or if they should think proper, to suffer said 
farm to be occupied as a glebe by said minister. Whereas, the Rector, 
Wardens and Vestrymen of Trinity Church have for several years per- 
mitted said farm to be used by the ministers of St. John's, Johnstown, N. 
Y., but the said farm being too remote from Johnstown to be occupied as 
a glebe by said minisiter, that the same is out of repairs and will require 
great reparation for the expense of which no provision is made by 
said trust, and if by any means the said farm could be put in tenantable 
condition the rent would be inconsiderable compared to the interest of 
the money which might be obtainted on a sale; therefore the Rector, &c, 
pray to be authorized to sell said farm, in which petition St. John's 
Church, Johnstown have united, therefore we pray that it be enacted by 
the People of New York in Senate and Assembly assembled : 



18 



HISTORY OF ST. ANN'S CHURCH, 



That it shall be lawful for the Rector, &c., of Trinity Church, New 
York to sell said farm and invest the proceeds thereof in government 
stocks or other securities to the end that the yearly interest or income 
thence arising may be forever hereafter applied in the same manner as re- 
quired by said trust in respect to rents issues and profits of said farm." 

You will observe that this act authorized the use of the income for 
the minister or ministers but did not give them any right to encroach 
upon the principle. 

The question is often asked, why was not the old canal constructed 
in the same straight line that the new canal follows in passing through 
Fort Hunter? At the time the old canal was built, about 1820, there was a 
bridge across the Schoharie just above the Church, and the channel was 
diverted from a straight line, passed through the site of the Church and 
the building destroyed in order to make use of the bridge in towing the 
boats across the stream at that point, as it was deemed more economical 
to destroy this historic landmark, than to go to the expense of building a 
new bridge. 

Commenting upon this act at the present time we call it vandalism, 
but you must remember that in those days there were no churchmen in 
that locality, and that its roof had been a "refuge from the storm" for the 
sheep and cattle that were pastured on the land nearby. For years the 
voice of prayer and thanksgiving had been hushed, and instead of the 
solemn notes of the deep toned organ within walls that had echoed alike 
to the song of praise and the war cry of the Mohawks, naught was heard 
but the lowing of cattle and the plaintive call of the sheep for its young. 
We condemn this act of vandalism, but are we in our day any more careful 
to preserve the old landmarks around which cling so many sweet and 
tender memories? 



ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



PORT JACKSON, N, Y. 

X X X X 

St. Ann's of Port Jackson was organized on December 22, 1835. 
Tuesday in Easter week was appointed for the annual election of warden 
and vestrymen and on December 22, 1835, the following persons were 
elected officers of the Church: 

Shuler Cady, S. Warden, 

John M. Hubbs, J. Warden, 

Jubal Tivermore, 

Charles Devendorf, 

George Warnick, 

Martin J. Borst, 

Chauncey Mears, 

John J. Schuyler, 

John Sanford. 

The Rev. Timothy Minor commenced his missionary labors on Dec. 
13, 1835, and through his efforts the Church was organized, and the 
corner stone laid on the 13th day of August, 1836, was received into 
union of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of the State of 
New York on October, 6, 1836, and completed and consecrated by 
Bishop Onderdonk on July 13, 1837. 

On April 5, 1836, the Rev. Timothy Minor, Martin I. Borst, Abram 
Pulling and John O. Comstock were appointed a committee to call on 
the corporation of Trinity Church, New York city, relative to the claims 
of St. Ann's Church to the Queen Anne Chapel Glebe at Fort Hunter. 

Records of the Vestry make it evident that the above committee was 
successful in its mission to Trinity Church, and on April 20, 1838, the 
Vestry was empowered to collect interest on the following securities: 



20 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH. 



Bond and mortgage of Josiah Leonard, Dated April 10, 1829, $900.00 
" ' " Peter Fonda, " January, 1829, 400.00 
" Nathan Brown, " January 17, 1835, 500.00 
" Nathan Brown, " April 2, 1837, 400.00 

$2200.00 

And on the same date, April 20, 1838, the Vestry gave a power of 
attorney to Dr. Charles Devendorf with authority to collect the yearly 
interest on the securities named and apply the same for the benefit of St. 
Ann's Church. Dr. Charles Devendorf held this office up to the time of 
his death in 1878. At that time W. Max Reid was appointed attorney, 
which office he holds at this date, (1897J. 

At different times since 1838 the bonds and mortgages were paid, the 
last one, that of Jacob J. Bush, amount $900.00, having been paid in 
March, 1882, and at the present time the whole amount in the hands of 
Trinity Church as proceeds from Queen Anne Glebe and for the benefit of 
St. Ann's Church is $2,252.84, on which the attorney receives half yearly 
interest at seven per cent. 

In the minutes of the Vestry under the date of April 13, 1841, we 
find a record of a final settlement between St. John's Church, Johnstown, 
and St. Ann's Church, and the payment of a "balance of $84.75 as their 
share or moiety of balance due on mortgage" on lands of John Conyne a 
part of the glebe. 

The Church at Port Jackson seems to have had a hard struggle 
and it soon became apparant that the location of the Church was disad- 
vantageous to the growth of the parish. During the rectorship of Rev. 
A. N. Littlejohn (at present Bishop of Long Island), it was resolved to 
change the location to Amsterdam. A sale was made of the edifice to 
St. Mary's Roman Catholic congregation June 19, 1849, for $2,400.00. 



The present St. Ann's Church, Amsterdam, on Division Street, was 
consecrated June 15, 1851, by Bishop DeLancy of western New York, 
under the rectorship of Rev. Thos. L. Franklin, but the tower was not 
completed until 1863. During the ministry of Rev. Howard T. Widdemer 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



21 



from 187 1 to 1875, a new organ was bought, the house and lot on the 
west side of the Church was purchased for a rectory, and the sittings of 
the Church declared free. 

In 1876 Rev. W. N. Irish was made rector. During his rectorship 
an effort was made to pay off the Church debt preparatory to building the 
new nave. This was partially accomplished, the individual members of 
the Vestry contributing seven hundred dollars for the payment of one of 
the mortgages on the rectory. The debt, in 1884 was $4,195.39. 

The rectorship of the Rev. David Sprague from 1884 to 1893 is noted 
for the completion of paying the Church debt and the enlargement of the 
Church building, and a large increase in the membership of the Church. 

In 1894 Rev. E. T. Carrol was called as rector and at this writing 
still holds that position. Through his energy the debt which was incurred 
in repairing and enlarging the building is being rapidly reduced from its 
former formidable proportions, and a very large number of communicants 
added to the parish register. The committee in charge of the repairs of 
the Church, which reopened November 11, 1888, feel a pardonable pride 
in the result of its labors, which has given Amsterdam a place of worship 
of such beauty and churchly grandeur, that it is noted throughout the 
diocese. 



ST- ANN'S CHURCH EDIFICE, 



PORT JACKSON, N, Y, 
x x x x 

As I look back fiftv years to the rectorship of Rev. A. N. Littlejohn, 
then in deacon's orders, the edifice at Port Jackson assumes monstrous 
proportions, in fact it was a very ambitious structure in point of size It 
was built of brick with a frontage on what is now Centre Street, of about 
forty-five feet and a depth of perhaps seventy feet, the gable end facing 
the street The only attempt at architectural ornamentation was the 
portico with pediment upheld by two large Ionic columns in antis and 
surmounted by an abbreviated square tower or belfry, but no bell. The 
entablature was of wood heavily moulded, and together with the portico, 
was painted white, while the wails were of unpainted brick. The entrance 
into the Church was by four doors from the portico, two into the body of 
the Church, and two to the gallery which extended across the rear or 
north end of the Church. The interior with its cold white walls and tall 
windows, destitute of blinds and with small panes of glass, might well 
have been taken for that of a primitive Church of colonial days, were 
it not for the bright colors of the pulpit and reading desk at the south end 
of the Church. 

The readino- desk was slightly raised from the platform, around which 
ran the altar rail. The pulpit was directly back of the reading desk and 
approached from the Vestry rooms by five or six steps on each side 
Both desk and pulpit were draped and cushioned with the bright red 
moreen so common in those days in most Churches, and the pews were of 
the same uncomfortable style that prevailed in Church edifices sixty years 

ag0 " After the sale of the building to St. Mary's congregation they used 
it until their new church was built on the north side in 1874, after which 
it was vacant for a number of years and finally sold to E. D. Bronson and 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



23 



others and used as a broom factory in 1883, when, like its predecessor Queen 
Anne's Chapel, it was torn down to make room for public improvement. 
The West Shore R. R. requiring the land on which it stood, paid the 
owner $n,ooo.oo for it and again a St. Ann's edifice was blotted out of 
existance. 

How often the march of time and the requirements of trade and com- 
merce make it necessary to efface from the face of the earth all track, trace 
or remembrance of old buildings that become dear to memory as they grow 
old and fall into decay. The memories of an old homestead are lasting 
to the surviving generations of the family that were born or reared within 
its walls, but the memories that cluster around an old Church building 
are more far-reaching and extend, not to the children of one family but 
to a large number of homes and to persons of all ages. How often one's 
love for the sacred edifice date back to the christening of some dearly 
beloved son or daughter. Or it may be that the remembrance of a bridal 
makes it dear to the memory of others. Perhaps the mind goes back to 
the time when the solemn words "earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to 
dust," were pronounced over some dearly loved child or parent, and 
forever made sacred the Church wherein those words were spoken. 

Such persons will lend an attentive ear to matters pertaining to the 
old edifice, and be in sympathy with efforts made to perpetuate its memory 
in records of history. Others are somewhat indifferent and are perfectly 
willing to leave the task to some one else. We go across the ocean to 
see ancient castles and cathedrals and look with wonder upon their time 
worn walls and records, and return to look on with indifference when 
some old landmark in our own country is ruthlessly destroyed to make 
room for some building more to the taste of Young America. Of course 
you will say that we are a new country and we have no time honored 
ruins. That is true, but we will always be a new country if some effort 
is not made to preserve that which is growing old. 



ST, ANN'S EDIFICE, 

1851—1889, 
DIVISION STREET, AMSTERDAM, N. Y. 



a; a; a; a; 



Referring to the minutes of the Vestry we find that at the annual 
meeting of St. Ann's Chureh, Port Jackson, held April 24, 1848, it is 
recorded "that Rev. A. N. Littlejohn was called and elected rector of sard 
parish at a salary of five hundred dollars for the first year.-George War- 
nick Sec'y ' ' It would seem that the subject of removal to Amsterdam 
^ have been suggested in the early part of his rectorship, for on 
December 18, 1848, a resolution was passed to change the location of the 
Church to Amsterdam. 

We have previously recorded the sale of the Church to St. Mary a 
congregation. In !8 4 9 a lot was purchased by Dr. Chas. Devendorf of 
Peter Wagor, 134 feet front on Division and 140 feet six inches rear and 
,45 feet deep, on which was erected St. Ann's Stone Church. The same 
year 59 feet of the westerly end of the lot was sold to Peter Fntcher for 
$,00.00. In 1872 the Vestry again purchased the 39 feet mentioned above, 
on which was a small frame dwelling, of Henry Herrick for a parsonage, 
but in 1888 the building was torn down and land covered by the enlarge- 
ment of the Church. Although we find no record in the minutes of the 
Vestry of any large sum of money received from Trinity Church to assist 
in building the two edifices of St. Ann's, we do find that on October 13. 
1836 the Vestry acknowledged the gift of $500.00 to the building fund 
forthe Port Jackson Church. As we find a mortgage of $1,500.00 given to 
Trinity Church in 1850, we are led to suppose that the corporation ^con- 
tributed that amount at different times towards the construction 01 the 
two buildings. We also find a quit claim deed from Charles Devendorf 
and wife to the Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen, &c. , for the lot on which 
the Church now stands. There are also papers that show that the little 
stone Church cost $5,500.00 up to July 7, 1851. 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH. 



25 



The building of the little stone Church marked an era in Church build- 
ing in Amsterdam. Previous to its erection the Churches were of the plain 
unpretentious style of the forepart of this century. Even in its unfinished 
state no one could look at its gray walls and Gothic arches without seeing 
its possibilities for beauty when completed. 

The art of photography will undoubtedly preserve its exterior and 
interior for years to come, and the fact that the old Church was nearly all 
preserved when incorporated in the new addition, will undoubtedly keep 
its walls intact for years. 

The building of 1851 was of Gothic style, the nave only being con- 
structed. A wide aisle in the centre led up to the narrow chancel in the 
north. The chancel rail enclosed the altar table with a modest reredos 
behind it, and the reading desk on the west side of it. Outside of the rail 
and a little in advance from it on the east side stood a small elevated pulpit. 
In the rear or south end of the Church and over the vestibule the choir 
was located. The first organ was purchased in 1841, was bought in New 
York, was second hand and the name of the maker has been forgotten. 
Anew organ was purchased in 1874 of Johnson & Co., of Westfield, Mass., 
for $1,500.00. This organ is still in use in the new Church. 

The present edifice was repaired and enlarged in 1888 to accommodate 
a largely increased congregation. The interior is spacious, the whole 
depth being about 130 feet and width about 65 feet, with nave, north and 
south aisles, and choir. It is lighted with numerous windows painted 
to represent scenes in the life of Christ, and emblems of Christianity. 
All, or nearly all, of the windows are in memoriam and are beautifully 
executed. The large window in the west end of nave, gift of S. Sanford; 
the smaller window in west end to the north, gift of the Warnick family; 
the smaller window in west end to the south, the gift of Davis W. Shuler; 
the large window in choir, gift of the Pulling family; the smaller window 
in the choir to the north, Mrs. M. Cady; the smaller window in the choir 
to the south, Mrs. Anne McDougall; the aisle windows to the south, the 
gift of the following persons: E. H. and B. Finlayson, W. Max and Myron 
W. Reid, Miss Moran, and on the north: E. M. Reid, John V. Riggs, 
Geo. S. and C. Devendorf, John J. Hand. Other windows: Harry t! 
Warnick, Mrs. Thos. Mansfield, David Sprague, Mrs. W. Simpson, Alice 



26 



HISTORY OF ST. ANN'S CHURCH, 



Clark, Margaret E. Clute, in memory of John E. Booth, W. B. Smith 

A. A. DeForest. 

Also the following pieces of Church furniture in memonam : 
Pulpit, Rev. W. A. Trapnell, 

Lecturn, Rev. Porter Thomas and wife, by Mrs. T. J. Potter, 
Font, John S. Kenworthy, 
Tablet, Ada Tooker Warnick, 

Front of Organ, Arnold and Otto, Mr. and Mrs. John Fea, 
Bishop's Chair, Bishop Doane, S. S. Class, 
Reredos, Children, Mr. and Mrs. L. G. Strang, 

Credence,? s Ann - S Guild 
Altar, i 

Large Alms Basin, Mrs. Trapnell's Class, 

Small Alms Basin, Angie Strang, 

Small Alms Basin, Clara and Julia Lindsay, 

Small Alms Basin, Hellen R. Bell, 

Altar Rail, S. R. Voorhees, 

Two Chancel Chairs, j g t Ann > s church, Brooklyn. 
Bible and Prayer Books, ^ 
Altar Service Book, Sister of Bethany, 
Altar Book Rest, Miss Keyes' S. S. Class, 
Vases for Super Altar, Elizabeth Brown, Mary Brown, 
Altar Cross, Aimee Elinor Strang, 
Litanv Desk, Daughters of the Cross. 
The Clerestory windows are gifts of the following persons: 
Raymond Christman, 
Oliver Hurst, 

Z. S. Westbrook, 

T. B. Van Derveer, 

H. B. Waldron, 

John Stewart, 

M. Louise Caney, 

David S. Sterling, 

Margaret A. Sterling, 

Mary Ann Turner, 

E. Watson Gardiner, 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



27 



Mrs. J. M. Thomas' S. S. Class, 
In memory of Norman G. Hatcher, 
C. D. Austin, 

In memory of Thos. Chambers, 
Dr. J. J. Miller, 
James L. Voorhees. 

Approaching the Church from the east the eye first rests on the green, 
well kept lawn with here and there a tall maple or elm springing from its 
surface in pleasing irregularity. Through their branches we eaten a 
glimpse of the little stone Church and tower which partially hides from 
view the main body of the edifice. Then we see a portion of the stone 
pillars of a Grecian porch with its iron railings and gateway. A few steps 
more and the panorama is complete and the whole south front of the 
Church is in view. The gray walls of the older portion when compared 
to the completed church is "as moonlight unto sunlight and as water unto 
wine. ' ' 

The dull red of the superstructure, the rough ashler of the gray stone 
walls peeping through the dense foliage of Japanese ivy, the green 
carpet of the lawn dotted here and there with trees of venerable age whose 
branches "half conceal yet half reveal" the grandeur of the completed 
edifice, make a picture that no artist can ever reproduce. 

As the visitor enters the Church at the western or main entrance, the 
heavy oaken doors and bare stone walls of the vestibule impress one with 
the idea of solidity, and the view of the interior after passing the swinging 
baize doors, is in a degree a surprise. The low aisles on each side with 
their slender pillars, and the lofty nave with its graceful arches, with 
colors of gray and brown and blue and brilliant tints of the beautiful 
windows, give a feeling of rest to the beholder, and as the eye wanders 
up the nave and is finally held by the graceful choir, a little somber perhaps 
in the distance, relieved somewhat by the glitter of the Lecturn and pulpit, 
its churchliness impresses one, and the thought of the visitor might well 
be, "truly this is the house of God." 



SITE OF QUEEN ANNE'S CHAPEL, 



x a: - 



The photo-engraving on the opposite page represents a portion of 
the old Erie canal, now used as a feeder from the Schoharie creek. The 
photograph was taken from the bridge over the guard lock looking east. 
On the west side of the bridge are the gates that admit the waters of the 
Schoharie into the feeder which in turn empties into the main canal about 
one-half mile away. The stonework in the foreground is the old guard 
lock built in 1820. The cut stone facings were new at that time, but the 
rough stone you see in the walls of the lock are the stones that were 
formerlv in the walls of Queen Anne's Chapel, which stood about twenty 
feet from the east end of the right hand stone wall and about the same 
distance south of the canal. 

The Chapel was demolished at the time the canal was built. The 
figure on the left is looking across the canal towards the site of the Chapel. 
From careful measurements we feel positive that the centre of the building 
was between the two apple trees whose tops appear in the foreground. 
At the time the Chapel was built the beautiful landscape reproduced by 
the artist in the picture, was dotted here and there with the rude huts of 
the Mohawks and the fiats to the right and left by patches of Indian corn, 
beans or tobacco. In the proper season the Indian women could be seen 
turning over the rich mould with its inexhaustable fertility, with their 
rude instruments of husbandry made of bone or stone. At a later season 
their bark dwellings were brightened by festoons of golden ears of maize 
and the fields and forest with brilliant tints of the autumn of the new 
world. The fields and forest are in a great measure still in the condition 
in which the Indians left them but their only place of worship has been 
razed from the face of the earth. 

It is said that the first town meeting in the town of Mohawk after its 
organization was held on the first Tuesday in April, 1788. in Queen 
Anne's Chapel. The district of Mohawk was formed in 1772. 



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THE MOHAWK INDIANS, 



X X X X 

When we read of Queen Anne's Chapel with its Silver Plate, Prayer 
Books, Bibles, and all of the paraphernalia of the Church of England, we 
are apt to think that it was established in the wilderness for the benefit 
of the white settlers. This, perhaps, was the secondary object, but the 
primary object was for the benefit of the "praying Indians" as the 
Mohawks were then called, and at their request to Queen Anne, in April, 
1 710, when three Sachems from the Iroquois visited England. The 
proper name of the Mohawks was Agmeque "the She Bear." The 
Algonquin tribes of Canada called them Maquase, meaning the same 
thing in their language. This was afterwards corrupted by the English 
into Mohaqua, Mohogg, Mohock and finally Mohawk. They were 
loyal to the English during the French war, and during the Revolution 
adhered to the Sir John Johnson party and fled to Canada, where they 
formed a settlement in 1785 at Grand River, Upper Canada. The Mo- 
hawks were ruling spirits in the confederation of the Six Nations, called 
the Iroquois, and were undoubtedly a war-like tribe, as we read of their 
conflicts with the Algonquins, their natural enemies, and with surround- 
ing tribes nearer at home. 

We are apt to think of the Iroquois as being nearly exterminated, 
and that the Indians of America are nearly extinct. It is true that they 
are steadily diminishing, but not to any great extent. It is said that the 
Iroquois in their greatest prosperity did not number more than 15,000 
persons and that there were in 1873, 13,660 in different parts of the 
United States and Canada. Among the descendants of the Mohawks of 
our own beautiful valley— ours by right of possession— their 's by right 
of heritage— are to be found men and women of great wealth and intelli- 
gence, who in themselves demonstrate the fact that the Indian is capable 
of civilization. 



30 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



FRAUDS PRACTICED ON THE INDIANS, 



X X X X 



Researches through the Documentary and Colonial Histories of New 
York reveal manv deeds of iniquity and frauds practised on the Indians 
bv some of the missionaries. But we are glad to say none are recorded 
against the missionaries of Queen Anne's Chapel. The name ol Dominie 
Oodfridus Dellius, however bears a bad reputation. 

In 16S3 he was sent bv the Consitory of the Reformed Dutch Church 
to as^t the Rev. Mr. Skaats an elderly minister of the Dutch Church at 
Albany \nd in 1689, it is recorded he converted and baptized one Mo- 
hawk Indian at Albany, and was accused of being on familiar terms with 
some French Jesuit missionaries. In r6 9 o he was accused ol treasonable 
utterances and fled to Boston in order to leave the country. During his 
mission to the Indians from 16S5 to ,690 he had gained great influence 
over the Mohawks and they were so fond of him that a delegation oi the 
-pravin- Indians" visited Albany and besought the Governor to send 
Dominie Dellius back to them. It is also recorded that in May, 1691. a 
delegation of the Mohawks called on Governor Sloughter and thanked 
him for restoring Dominie Dellius to them. 

It is said that he almost immediately planned to cheat them out oi 
their land while teaching them to pray, by inducing them to sign a deed, 
which thev were told was a deed in trust to prevent the government from 
taking their lands away from them. The grants given Dellius were no 
deeds'in trust but bona fide deeds making him the absolute owner ot vast 
tracts of land on the Mohawk and Hudson. 

One -rant to Dellius and others was for "a tract of land lying on the 
Mohacqus 5 river four miles wide and about fifty miles long 
' Another grant to Dellius was for "a tract on the east side ol Hudson s 
river seventy miles long and twelve miles wide." 

And one to Col. Bayard for "a tract on the Tiononderoga (Schoharie) 

creek about thirty miles in length." n „ T . pwi,-, \s soon 

These -rants and other were confirmed by G01 . Fletcher. As soon 
as the citizens of Albany became aware of the fraud that had been practiced 
on the Mohawks, thev 'were so incensed at the act that the matter was 
laid before the Assembly and Mr. Dellius and Mr. Banker were removed. 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



31 



Dellius asked time to answer the charges, but instead of doing so he fled 
the country. 

The Assembly on March 2, 1699, passed an act vacating these fraudu- 
lent exhorbitant grants and suspended Dominie Godfrey Dellius from his 
"church and ministerial functions." This took place under the reign of 
"King William and Mary." But this act was not confirmed until 1708. 
by Queen Anne. It is said that these grants were signed by Governor 
Fletcher who was probably a member of what would be called in these 
days, "the ring." 

Even as late as 1731, it is charged that the Mayor and some others 
of the Corporation of Albany used the same methods to secure one thousand 
acres of low lands along the Mohawk river. It is said that the Mayor 
told the Indian Sachems that Governor Montgomrie had in his lifetime 
an intention to take their land from them and that possibly some future 
governor might pursue the same intention. They were told that the only 
way to secure their lands from such attempts was to make them over to 
the Corporation in trust for them, and that the Corporation would with- 
stand such attempts and preserve the land for them as long as they should 
see fit to continue them as trustees. The Sachems did execute what they 
supposed to be a deed in trust, but found out later that it was an absolute 
conveyance of a thousand acres of low meadow ground at Tiononderoga, 
(Fort Hunter), being their best planting ground. 

Full of resentment at the fraud, they called on Gov. Cosby and de- 
sired that the Mayor might be ordered to bring the deed that it might be 
read and interpreted to them. Gov. Cosby sent for the Mayor and the 
deed was read to the Sachems who cried out that they had been cheated 
and demanded that the deed be destroyed. Gov. Cosby inquired if any- 
thing had been given in consideration for the land, and finding that they 
had been given nothing and the fraud being too evident, he gave the 
deed into the hands of the Sachems who first tore it to pieces and with 
great rage cast it into the fire. The Corporation made complaint to 
King George charging that contrary to good faith and honesty the 
Governor had given this valuable deed into the hands of the Indians to 
be destroyed and that it was destroyed to the irreparable damage of the Cor- 
poration. As late as 1790 the city of Albany claimed land at Tiononder- 
oga, but we are unable to say whether it was part of this 1 ,000 acres or not. 



THE QUEEN ANNE PLATE, 



X X X X 



From Oronhyatekha the Supreme Chief Ranger of the Foresters of 
Canada and descendent from the Mohawks of Tiononderoga and i fom 
Rev R Ashton, the present incumbent of the Mohawk Church at Brant- 
ford Ontario, Canada, I have received the following information: 

It appears that the Communion Service that Queen Anne sent to the 
Mohawks was buried on their old reservation at Fort Hunter during ; the 
Revolution, and remained there some years or until the Mohawks became 
settled in the reservation near Brantford, (1785) and on he Bay of 
Quinte; then a party was sent back, resurrected the plate and brought it 
back to Canada. For a period of 22 years, prior to July, 1897, the plate 
was safely kept by Mrs. J. M. Hill, the grand-daughter of the celebrated 
chief Capt. Joseph Brant, whose mother was the original custodian hav- 
ing kept it from the time of its arrival in Canada, till her death Of 
course the custodian was required to take the Communion plate to the 
Church on Communion days. Later the Mohawks were presented with 
a Communion set, after which the Queen Anne plate was only used on 
state occasions. 

In 1785, some of the Mohawks settled at the Bay of Quinte and the 
larger body on Grand river, at Brantford. The Rev. John Stuart D. D. 
who had been their missionary at Fort Hunter and fled to .Canada with 
the Indians and Tories, was appointed to the charge of both bands and a 
Church was built at both piaces by King George III. The plate was 
then divided, it consisted of seven pieces, two Flagons, two Chahces, two 
Patens and one Alms Basin. 

To the Grand River band was given the Alms Basin and one each of 
the other pieces, also a large Bible. The Indians at the Bay of Quinte 
have a Flagon, Paten and Chalice in the hands of Mrs. Joh >M ^at 
Deseronto, Canada. The Chalice at the Grand River is much bent, the 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



33 



other pieces are in good order as is also the Bible. Each piece of plate is 
inscribed: "The Gift of Her Majesty Ann, by the Grace of God, of Great 
Britain, ffrance and Ireland and Her Plantations in North America, Queen, 
to her Indian Chappel of the Mohawks." The Bible printed in 1701 is 
in good condition and bears on the cover "For Her Majesty's Church of 
the Mohawks, 1 7 1 2 . " 



CHRONOLOGY OF SOVEREIGNS OF ENGLAND. 

X X X X 



James I, - - 1603 — 1625 
Charles I, - - 1625 — 1649 
Commomwealth, - 1649 — 1659 
Charles II, - - 1660 — 1685 
Interregnum, December n, 1688, 

to July 13, 1689. 
King William & Mary, 1689 — 1702 



Queen Anne, - - 1702 — 1714 

King George I, - 17 14 — 1727 

" George II, - 1727 — 1760 

" George III, - 1760 — 1820 

" George IV, - 1820 — 1830 

" William IV, 1830 — 1837 

Queen Victoria, - 1837 — 



CONTRACT TO BUILD FORTS 



IN THE 

MOHAWK AND ONONDAGA COUNTRIES, 

X X X X 

This Indenture Made at Albany in her Majesties Province of New 
York in America this Eleventh day of October In the Tenth Year of ye 
Reign of Our Sovereign Lady Anne over Great Brittain ffrance and Ire- 
land Queen defender of the faith &c and in ye Yeare of our Lord One 
thousand seven hundred and a Eleventh Between Robert Hunter Esqr 
Capt Genii and Governour in Chief of ye aforesaid Province and ye Honable 
Collo Francis Nicholson of the one part And Garet Symonce Barent Vro- 
man Hendrick Yroman John Wemp and Arent Yan Patten of Schenec- 
tady in the county of Albany in the foresaid Province of New York 
Carpenters of the other part Witnesseth That it is hereby Agreed between 
the said Partyes to these presents that ye said Garret Symonce Barent 
Vroman Hendrick Yroman John Wemp and Arent Van Patten shall 
Build two Forts in the Indian Country According to ye Agreement herein 
after Set forth Yiz: the said Garret Symonce Barent Vroman Hendrick 
Vroman John Wemp and Arent Yan Patten Doe for themselves their 
Heires Executors and Administrators Covenant and agree to and with 
the said Robert Hunter Esqr Governour aforesaid and the said Collo 
Francis Nicholson their Heirs Executors and Administrs that ye said 
Garet Symonce Barent Yroman Hendrick Vroman John Wemp and Arent 
Van Patten shall and will forthwith Repare into the Mohoques Country 
and there Build a ffort One hundred and fifty feet square the Curtains 
made with Loggs of a foot Square Eaid one upon another and pinned 
together till they Reach the heighth of twelve foot Att each corner a 
Block house twenty four foot Square Two Storyes high Duble Loopholes 
the Rofe to be covered with Boards and then Shingled the undermost part 
or Ground room to be nine foot high the upper Eight foot both well 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



35 



floured with Boards the logs of ye Block houses to be nine Inches Square 
and Bedsteads and Benches In Each B(l)ockhouse for twenty men and in 
each Block house a Chemney toward ye Inside of ye said fifort with 
Scaffolds five foot wide along Each Cortain from one Block house to 
another And also a Chaple in the Midle of the ffort of twenty four foot 
square one Storye Ten foot high with Garret Over it well Covered with 
Boards and Shingled and well flowrd A Seller of fifteen foot Square 
under it Covered with Loggs and then with Earth The whole Chaple to 
be well floured PROVIDED always that the said Garet Symonce Barent 
Vroman Hendrick Vroman John Wemp and Arent Van Petten are allowed 
time for the Completing this work till the first day of July Next Ensueing 
And only Obliged hereby to finish one Block house in Manner as aforsaid 
for Immediate Service in ye Mohocks Country this Wintter And ye said 
Garet Symonce Barent Vroman Hendrick Vroman John Wemp and Arent 
Van Petten doe also for themselves their Executors and Administrators 
further Covenant and Agree to and with ye Robt Hunter Esqr Governor 
as aforesaid And the said Collo Francis Nicholson That they ye said Garet 
Symonce Barent Vroman Hendrick Vroman John Wemp and Arent Van 
Petten will soon after they have finished the aforesaid worke in the Mo- 
hocks Country Repair to Onnondaga and there Build Another ffort Chaple 
and Block houses of the Same Dimentions and under the same Restric- 
tions and Directions as ye aforesaid ffort Chaple and Block houses in the 
Mohocks Country Excepting Only that ye Chaple and Block houses in 
Onnonge may be singled upon Laths Instead of Boards and ye ffort Chapel 
and Block houses may be made of such Togs as may be most Conveniently 
got there PROVIDED they are good and sufficient for that service and the 
flores to be Laid with splet wood in ye place and stead of Boards PRO- 
VIDED at all times that if by any insults of the Enemy or Outraiges of 
ye Indians The said Garet Symonce Barent Vroman Hendrick (Vroman) 
John Wemp and Arent Van Petten should at any time be hindred in their 
performance of this Agreement That they be paid and allowed for what 
work and Expenses they shall at such time have been at and performed 
in proportion to ye whole undertaking AND ye said Robt Hunter Esqr 
and ye Collo Francis Nicholson Do for themselves their Executors and 
Administrators m Consideration of the work to be performed as aforesaid 
Covenant and Agree to and with ye said Garet Symonce Barent Vroman 



36 



HISTORY OF ST, ANN'S CHURCH, 



Hendrick Vroman John Wemp and Arent Van Petten And their Executors 
Adrninrs and Assignes That they ye said Robert Hunter Esqr and Collo 
Francis Nicholson or their Executors or Administrators Shall and Will 
pay or caused to be paid unto the said Garet Symonce Barent Vroman 
Hendrick Vroman John Wemp and Arent Van Petten their Exectrs or Ad- 
minisrs one thousands pounds Current Money of New York atyeseverall 
times and in Such proportions as is herein after Exprest Viz One hundred 
pounds in a Bill of Exchange Within ten days after ye date hereof four 
hundred pounds more when they shall have finished aforesaid agreement 
for the Mohocks Country and five hundred pounds more Like Money when 
they shall have Completed the whole Recited Agreement of Onnondage the 
Bill of Exchange to be Drawn payable at thirty days sight The said Garet 
Symonce Barent Vroman Hendrick Vroman John Wemp and Arent Van 
Petten hereby obligeing themselves their Executors Administrators and 
Assigns to the ye Effectuall finishing the said ffort Chaple and Block 
houses at Onnondage by the first day of July which will Year of 

Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and thirteen, IN TESTIMON\ 
whereof the Partyes to these presents Interchangeably sett their hands 
and Seales the day and Year first above written. 

his 

Arent Van Petten Jan Wemp 
Mark 

Barent Vroman Hendric Vroman 
Garret Symonce 
Signed Sealed and Delivered in ye presence of 
K. V. Rensselaer 
Myndert Schuyler 
Robt Livingston Junior 



DEDICATION, 



When the writer consented to place on record the facts regarding 
the history of St. Ann's he had no idea of the ardous duty he had under- 
taken. But after he had begun the work it was impossible not to become 
interested to such an extent as to become fascinated with it, and although 
it has taken a great deal of time and labor, he does not think of it as a 
burden, a tedious task, but rather as a season of pleasure, and regrets that 
it is ended. If the little history of St. Ann's should meet the approval of 
its people, he has but one favor to ask, and that is, the privelege of add- 
ing to this record, the kind words that Rev. Mr. Irish has written in his 
"Parish Work," in memory of the writer's mother: 

"Several entries in the register will, I am sure, call up tender mem- 
ories of loved ones; " Dr. Abraham Pulling died July 8th, 1865. He 
was Senior Warden in St. Ann's Church from its organization till his 
death— aged 75 years. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord." 
"George Warnick, Esq., died December 5th, 1865, aged 63 years. He 
was one of the oldest members of St. Ann's Parish : a Superintendent of 
the Sunday School, a Communicant of the Church. He died in the Lord. ' ' 
" Jubal Livermore died November 26th, 1868, in the 74th year of his 
age." " Dr. Charles A. Devendorf, one of the original vestrymen of the 
Church, died April 29th, 1878." St. Ann's Church owes a great deal to 
his energy, presistancy and judgement for its continued success." 

When we look back a half century in the history of the Church, 
among a host of others, the names of Dr. Abraham Pulling, Dr. Charles 
A. Devendorf and George Warnick stand out clear and distinct among 
the founders of St. Ann's Church. 

"There is one name that deserves more than a passing notice; "Mrs. 
Chole Reid died June 26th, 1866, in the 63rd year of her age." and the 
Rector apporpriately adds, "She died in the faith." We can look over 
our congregation and see the sheaves of her unwearied work in well- 



3 8 HISTORY OF ST. ANN'S CHURCH. 



doin- still standing. Like another Ruth, she wrought faithfully m the 
field of her Lord with a gentle but stronger will than a man, gleaning 
more than ■ 'handfuls' ' which were left. Through her influence some of 
the best families represented here were induced to attend our services; 
and in many cases she never left them until father, mother, and children 
were either baptised or confirmed. She was the planner and organizer 
of every o-ood work and enterprise, and often, when discouragements 
seemed' to overthrow all that had been done, her bright face, cheerful 
manners, and indomitable perseverance would arouse the enthusiasm of 
others and soon all would be surprised at the harvest which had been 
secured Silently, when others were resting, she was traversing our by- 
streets visiting sad homes, and making them bright with her genial 
words of encouragement. The faithful encourager of all her pastors, she 
did more than any of them in learning of cases of sickness and want, and 
imparting relief at once. Many a bed of suffering were cheered by her 
counsel and kindly words, and often when the sick ones recovered she 
interested them in the Church any thus led them to the Saviour. Through 
sincere conviction she came to us from the Methodists, and was followed 
soon after by her husband, finding in our services every spiritual long- 
ing satisfied with full fruition blest." Like her Hebrew scriptural name 
which the Greeks called Chios, her memory, this day, ts a green plant 
fresh and blooming, in the garden of her Lord. Truly, "she died m the 
Faith." 



I 



J 



